State Of Union Address

If there had been some debate about which unit should lead the charge into fortified Iraqi positions in Kuwait, it should end now. Judging by the wildly enthusiastic reaction of the Congress to Bush's bellicose address, we should have 535 eager volunteers. Suit 'em up, ship 'em out! DAVID A. SMITH, Irvine

WASHINGTON - President Obama's sixth speech on the state of the union spotlighted many issues, but more than anything it illuminated the vast gap between his policy ambitions and the tools he has to achieve them. The president made the ambition clear last month, when he referred to a "dangerous and growing inequality and lack of upward mobility" in the U.S. as the "the defining challenge of our time," a theme he repeated Tuesday night. "After four years of economic growth, corporate profits and stock prices have rarely been higher, and those at the top have never done better," he said, "but average wages have barely budged.

A journalist for an Italian newsmagazine said in an interview published Saturday that it was she who turned over to U.S. diplomats some documents purportedly showing that Iraq wanted to buy uranium from Niger. The documents turned out to be forgeries. Corriere della Sera, an Italian daily, quoted Elisabetta Burba as saying her source "in the past proved to be reliable." Burba, who writes for the weekly Panorama, refused to reveal her source.

In his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Obama will try to recharge his presidency by discussing the expansive divide between rich and poor in America. It's a crucial issue, and one with no easy solutions. Obama is expected to focus on the twin themes of income inequality and social mobility, which is the ability to move up the economic ladder. Wealth disparity has drawn enormous attention with the U.S. income gap at its highest level since the Great Depression.

The parents of Chicago shooting victim Hadiya Pendleton will join First Lady Michelle Obama at the State of the Union address on Tuesday, as the president urges Congress to combat gun violence. Cleopatra Cowley-Pendleton and Nathaniel A. Pendleton's daughter Hadiya was shot and killed on Chicago's South Side in January, just days after the teenager traveled to Washington, D.C., to mark the president's inauguration. She was an honors student and band majorette at King College Prep High School. According to the White House, the first lady's box at the address will include Americans from middle-class families whose lives the president believes would be improved by his policy proposals.

WASHINGTON - In the first State of the Union address of his second term, President Obama tried to breathe new life into his economic agenda, offering measures to spur growth and urging Congress to revive stalled talks over deficit reduction. Entering his fifth year presiding over a flagging economy, the president declared the restoration of a strong middle class "our unfinished task" and called on a deeply divided Congress to find "reasonable compromise" to solve the nation's lingering fiscal ills.

WASHINGTON -- President Obama plans to call for compromise in his State of the Union address Tuesday night as he invites Republicans to join him in a search for common ground -- and subtly dares them not to. The annual address -- the first of his second term -- comes as Obama faces a limited time of opportunity to pass legacy-making agenda items through a divided Congress while his political capital is still at its post-reelection high....

WASHINGTON -- Some new traditions have taken hold amid the familiar rituals of a State of the Union address, and they seem to have a common goal: drawing some of the spotlight away from the president and to his audience. The newest push on the part of lawmakers revolves around a clothing accessory - an attention-grabbing orange lapel pin that more than three dozen lawmakers will wear to signify their intent to "put their country first - ahead of party. " The initiative by members of the self-described "Problem Solvers Caucus" is sponsored by the group No Labels , a nonprofit group involving Democrats, Republicans and independents, and is the latest attempt to restore some collegiality in the polarized atmosphere in Washington these days.

WASHINGTON -- The spotlight may be on President Obama tonight as he delivers the first State of the Union address of his second term, but his remarks mark the culmination of countless laborious hours spent fine-tuning his every word. With former head speechwriter Jon Favreau having left the White House after spending seven years with Obama, Tuesday night's address marks new chief speechwriter Cody Keenan's first time leading the pivotal yearly address. Administration officials have said that Obama's speech will include a call for "common ground," between Republicans and Democrats though the speech maintains Obama's second-term proclivity toward using political pressure to keep Republicans in line with White House policy.

WASHINGTON - Ted Nugent, the rocker-turned-gun-rights activist who was the subject of a Secret Service investigation last year after controversial remarks about President Obama, will attend Tuesday's State of the Union address as the guest of a conservative congressman from Texas. The invitation from Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Texas), announced Monday, comes as some Democratic lawmakers have invited people who have been affected by gun violence to attend the presidential address.

The parents of Chicago shooting victim Hadiya Pendleton will join First Lady Michelle Obama at the State of the Union address on Tuesday, as the president urges Congress to combat gun violence. Cleopatra Cowley-Pendleton and Nathaniel A. Pendleton's daughter Hadiya was shot and killed on Chicago's South Side in January, just days after the teenager traveled to Washington, D.C., to mark the president's inauguration. She was an honors student and band majorette at King College Prep High School. According to the White House, the first lady's box at the address will include Americans from middle-class families whose lives the president believes would be improved by his policy proposals.

Click here to download TV listings for the week of Feb. 10 - 16, 2013 in PDF format This week's TV Movies SUNDAY Brits pick the best of the past year's flicks at the "BAFTA Awards 2013," where "Lincoln" leads the pack with 10 noms. And singer Frank Ocean is up for six trophies at "The 55th Annual Grammy Awards. " (BBC America, 5 and 8 p.m.; CBS, 8 p.m.) Cylons! The metallic meanies are back in "Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome," a new prequel to the acclaimed science fiction series.